Outrun - Futurenature (Album)
Emerging out of the same city that gave us the bands that made us want to dance again is Melbourne trio Outrun. Fans of Cut Copy, Midnight Juggernauts, The Presets, Klaxons and all those Modular bands listen up. Take what those bands are doing but keep it underground so that you’re not fighting your way through hoards of screaming fourteen-year-olds to get a glimpse of the band that’s making the sounds that are making you forget you’re too shy/cool to bust a move and you’ve got a pretty good idea of what Outrun are giving to the world.
Their recently released album is Futurenature and it is good. It is really, really good. The lyrics to the eight songs (there are nine on the album; one is instrumental) are like anecdotes which lure you into a magical world where it is always night-time. They combine surreal and slightly obscure topics with stories about every day activities of the young and medicated to create a soundtrack for the nights we can’t remember. People often dismiss electro because it is “doof doof”, repetitive and unimaginative, but Outrun prove that wrong with such ease. The lyrics are well-written with honesty and emotion whilst at the same time being a little detached so that listeners will appreciate the human side of it but won’t be too busy to dance because they’re reminiscing on times that the lyrics evoked. There won’t be any shoe-gazing when listening to Futurenature. You. Will. Dance. I could hardly stop myself dancing when I played it in my room, let alone when you see this band live.
(…which, by the way, is something everyone seriously must do. I check the Outrun MySpace page perhaps a little obsessively for Sydney gig dates)
But getting back on track – aside from the impressive lyrics, the music is that sound that evokes the 80s and old-school video games but with a sort of dark basements and back alleys side added so that you know it won’t be violated by kids dressed in fluorescent shirts with oversized letters on them. It is obvious Outrun weren’t just bored and playing around with a free Internet download music program and a keyboard and put together some sounds. They know what they’re doing and the end result is proof.
I’m a little protective of Outrun, I have to admit. I’m a bit torn. I want their music to be known because they have talent and they deserve to get recognition for it, and the rest of the world really needs to hear these songs. Dirty Minds is the sort of song that would sound so good next to something like Let’s Make Out by Does It Offend You, Yeah? on a mixtape. When the Light Goes Down is like party photography in a song, capturing the good and the bad of nightlife in four minutes. Out of the Ashes is such a brilliant song that I just wrote and deleted ten sentences because none of them could come even close to describing how good it is, especially those vocals at the beginning as he sings “I’m gonna rise like a fiery phoenix” and the chorus about the “fiery redhead”. Not a single song on Futurenature is forgettable.
…but at the same time, I don’t want them to stop playing those shows where there is no stage, just the band dancing with the fans as others scramble past trying to get to the bar. I don’t want them signed to some big record company that tells them to put out an album or else and forces them to compromise their sound. But perhaps I’m just being paranoid. I just really like where Outrun are at now – their sound is known across Australia; they’re playing regular gigs (though a few more in Sydney wouldn’t hurt); they’re being played on FBi; and they’ve got an album to promote! People are paying attention.
I’m not being biased here. Outrun really are very brilliant. Get your hands on a copy of Futurenature and try to prove me wrong.
